Ensiling Biomass for Biofuels Production and Multiple Phase Apparatus for Hydolyzation of Ensiled Biomass

ABSTRACT

A method, apparatus and system for the hydrolyzation of ensiled biomass is disclosed. Ensiled biomass is processed in multiple phases, resulting in a liquid precursor hydrozate and a solid precursor hydrozate. The liquid precursor having significant economic value, and being suitable for uses such as, for example, lower cost and improved efficiency ethanol production. A method for lower cost, improved efficiency alcohol production that uses the resulting liquid precursor hydrozate being produced at distributed sources is further disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE

This application is a continuation application of application Ser. No.12/633,555, filed Dec. 8, 2009, which claims the benefit of the filingdate of U.S. provisional patent Application Ser. No. 61/201,205, filedon Dec. 9, 2008, each of which is incorporated herein by reference inits entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to biofuels production, and moreparticularly, relates to an apparatus, system and method formanufacturing liquid precursors and solid precursors.

2. Description of Related Art

The production of alcohol such as ethanol frequently uses corn as afeedstock and requires high energy input, typically from fossil fuels.Ethanol holds promise as a fuel source that is not petroleum based; adesirable goal for the United States and other countries seeking energyindependence and lower environmental impact. Unfortunately ethanolproduction in the United States has come under scrutiny due to the needfor large amounts of fossil fuel to both process the ethanol and also toship the feedstock to a central refinery.

There exists an unmet need for improved processes, methods, systems andequipment to produce biofuels such as alcohols, for example ethanol,with lower energy input demands. This reduction in energy use can comefrom various improvements including process improvements at thebiorefinery as well as improvements in feedstock production, processingand transportation. These improvements are necessary if ethanol andrelated biofuels are to become a viable long term source oftransportation fuel and transportation fuel additives.

In the United States corn is the primary feedstock for ethanolproduction due to the climate and available growing conditions. To makea biorefinery cost effective, feedstock should be available year roundto maintain continuous production and ensure proper and adequateutilization of plant and equipment. Storage of feedstock becomes anecessity to meet these operating objectives. Unfortunately storage offeedstock represents additional costs both in storage andtransportation, serving to further misalign the cost targets of ethanolproduction. There exists an unmet need for improved feedstock storageand processing to reduce the overall costs of ethanol and relatedbiofuel production.

It is thus an object of the present invention to provide an improvedfeedstock processing and storage system. It is another object of thepresent invention to provide an apparatus to produce liquid precursorsfor biofuels production such as alcohols, for example, ethanol. It isanother object of the present invention to provide an apparatus thatseparates liquid precursors from solid precursors. It is another objectof the present invention to provide a method for producing biofuels thatuses a liquid precursor from a plurality of distributed sources. It isyet another object of the present invention to provide a method forproducing biofuels that reduces transportation costs from the feedstocksource to the biorefinery. It is another object of the present inventionto provide a method and apparatus for biofuels production that reducesprocess energy use. It is yet another object of the present invention toprovide a method and apparatus for producing solid precursors fromfeedstock that have utility and are environmentally benign. It isanother object of the present invention to provide a method and systemfor producing biofuels that reduces feedstock storage requirements atthe biorefinery. It is yet another object of the present invention toprovide a method, system and apparatus that reduces the size, cost andoperating energy usage of a biorefinery.

These and other objects of the present invention are described in thedetailed specification, drawings and claims contained herein.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a multiplephase apparatus for the hydrolyzation of ensiled biomass that results ina solid precursor and a liquid precursor, the liquid precursor havingsignificant economic value, and being suitable for uses such as, forexample, lower cost and improved efficiency ethanol production. Thesolid precursor also having economic value and utility. The resultingliquid precursor being produced at a plurality of distributed sourcesand shipped to a biorefinery for production of biofuel such as ethanol.

The foregoing paragraph has been provided by way of introduction, and isnot intended to limit the scope of the invention as described andclaimed herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described by reference to the following drawings,in which like numerals refer to like elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram depicting processes at a biomass producer;

FIG. 2 is a diagram depicting steps taken during harvest of biomass;

FIG. 3 is a diagram that illustrates steps taken during pretreatment andstorage of biomass;

FIG. 4 is a diagram that illustrates multi-phase extraction ofprecursors;

FIG. 5 is a diagram that shows the concentration of liquid precursors;

FIG. 6 is a diagram depicting processes at a biorefinery;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the major steps in producing biofuelsaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing major process components of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 depicts a distributed feedstock processing and centralbiorefinery system;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an exemplary packed fermenterstructure; and

FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view of a vessel containing packedfermenter structures.

The present invention will be described in connection with a preferredembodiment, however, it will be understood that there is no intent tolimit the invention to the embodiment described. On the contrary, theintent is to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents asmay be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as definedby this specification, drawings, and claims contained herein.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

For a general understanding of the present invention, reference is madeto the drawings. In the drawings, like reference numerals have been usedthroughout to designate identical elements.

As used herein, the term “liquid precursor hydrozate” shall refer to aliquid derived from ensiled biomass and water that has been processedand otherwise treated as disclosed or suggested herein.

As used herein, the term “feedstock” shall refer to any and all biomass,such as, but not limited to, hard grains, starches, cellulose,hemicellulose and lignocellulosic biomasses such as corn stover, cerealstraws, sugarcane bagasse, sawdust and paper pulp, waste materials,switchgrass, old and/or poor quality animal feed, paper, cardboard,other biomass derivatives, complete plant materials, and any material orsubstance that may be used to produce biofuels such as ethanol.Feedstock has also been referred to herein as biomass, and the terms areused interchangeably throughout this specification.

The terms hydrolyze and hydrolyzation refer to the process of addingwater to a material such as, for example, ensiled and processed biomass.The term hydrozate refers to a product of hydrolyzation according to thepresent invention, and may be a liquid hydrozate or a solid hydrozate,and is also referred to in this specification as a liquid precursorhydrozate or a solid precursor hydrozate. A liquid precursor hydrozatemay contain solids and a solid precursor hydrozate may contain liquids;the term liquid precursor hydrozate indicates that the material isprimarily liquid in composition and the term solid precursor hydrozateindicates that the material is primarily solid in composition.

A liquid precursor hydrozate is produced, as will be further describedherein. This liquid precursor hydrozate has undergone processing and mayundergo further processing such that it is suitable for biofuels such asalcohol, for example ethanol, production. The liquid precursor hydrozateis shipped from distributed locations to central biorefineries whereprocesses may include fermentation and distillation to make the finalproduct.

At each distributed location, in addition to the production of liquidprecursor hydrozates, solid precursor hydrozates are co-products thatmay be used for absorbent media, animal or human food and foodadditives, building products such as composite boards and sheets, animalbedding, combustible fuels such as burning pellets, adhesive and plasticadditives, bio-plastics, soil additives, and the like.

FIG. 1 is a diagram depicting processes at a biomass producer. Biomassproducers are at distributed locations that may be local or regional.The biomass producer may be the grower of the biomass, or may usebiomass that has been grown for other purposes. The biomass may, in someembodiments of the present invention, be processed or otherwise modifiedprior to use in the production of liquid precursor hydrozates. Thebiomass may be a by-product of another product or process. A biomassproducer includes feedstock producers as well as feedstock processors,feedstock storage facilities, food processors, recycling centers, andthe like. Feedstock may include hard grains, cellulose biomasses, wastematerials, biomasses farmed for the sole purpose of producing biofuelssuch as alcohol, for example ethanol, old and/or poor quality animalfeed, and the like. Feedstock includes any material or substance thatmay be used to produce biofuels for example alcohol. In FIG. 1, harvestof biomass is performed in step 101. Harvest step 101 will be furtherdiscussed by way of FIG. 2. Biomass includes feedstock as well as otherbiologically occurring materials that may be in their natural state, ormay have been processed or otherwise altered by acts of man. Thisincludes, for example, biomass as a by product, waste product, orsecondary product of food or material production. Thus, harvest includesnot only direct removal of organic material from cropland, but alsoincludes collecting or harvesting biomass from other sources that mayinclude, for example, marine sources, production and manufacturingsources, storage and processing sources, recycling sources, and thelike.

In FIG. 1, once the biomass is harvested, a pretreatment and storagestep 103 takes place. Pretreatment and Storage will be further discussedin FIG. 3. Pretreatment may include mechanical reformation andprocessing of the feedstock such as mechanical destruction, reformation,grinding, chopping, shredding, crushing or seperating of the feedstock.Pretreatment may also include the addition or removal of water or otherchemicals, and may include the addition of innoculates. Oncepretreatment of the biomass is performed, the biomass is stored in ahigh moisture state in traditional or modified feed storage structuressuch as silos, bins, inground bunkers, ag bags, and the like. Theanaerobic storage of high moisture biomass is known as ensiling. Ensiledbiomass provides a material to manufacture liquid precursor hydrozatesmany months after the growing season is over, thus allowing year roundproduction and load balancing of biorefineries. The biomass can bepretreated in step 103 of FIG. 1 to allow for optimal efficiency liquidprecursor hydrozate production. Once the biomass has been pretreated andstored in step 103, it can be used in the production of a liquidprecursor hydrozate, which is a non-fermented, high sugar content liquidthat has been derived from the ensiled biomass using processes andmethods that will be further described by way of FIG. 4. The multi-phaseextraction of precursors in step 105 may take place weeks or monthsafter the biomass is pretreated and stored in step 103. The multi-phaseextraction of precursors in step 105, as will be further described byway of FIG. 4, involves the production of liquid precursor hydrozate aswell as solid precursor hydrozate that also has utility for purposessuch as absorbent media, animal or human food and food additives,building products such as composite boards and sheets, animal bedding,combustible fuels such as burning pellets, adhesive and plasticadditives, bio-plastics, and the like. Step 107 is a Concentration stepwhere the liquid precursor hydrozate undergoes water removal usingtechniques such as reverse osmosis, ultra or nano filtration, heat, andthe like. Step 107 of FIG. 1 is further described by way of FIG. 5.

Turning now to FIG. 2, the Harvest step 101 of FIG. 1 is furtherdescribed. Harvesting of biomass includes not only direct removal oforganic material from cropland, but also includes collecting orharvesting biomass from other sources that may include, for example,marine sources, production and manufacturing sources, storage andprocessing sources, and the like. Biomass includes feedstock taken fromcropland, as well as other biologically occurring materials that may bein their natural state, or may have been processed or otherwise alteredby acts of man. This includes, for example, biomass as a by-product,waste product, or secondary product of food or material production.

An optional mechanical separation step 203 involves sorting or otherwisesegregating the harvested biomass. For example, corn may be separatedinto constituent materials such as stalks, cobs and kernels. Mechanicalseparation may be used to enhance the production of liquid precursorhydrozate, or may be used to segregate constituent agricultural productsthat may be used for various other purposes. Mechanical processing 205of the biomass may include mechanical destruction, reformation,grinding, chopping, shredding, crushing, seperating, or other mechanicalactions intended to render the feedstock more suitable for themanufacture of liquid precursor hydrozate. Once the biomass isharvested, optionally seperated, and processed, Pretreatment and Storageof the Biomass is performed.

Turning to FIG. 3, an optional secondary destruction 301 may take placethat may include mechanical destruction, reformation, grinding,chopping, shredding, crushing, seperating, or other mechanical actionsintended to render the biomass more suitable for the manufacture ofliquid precursor hydrozate. Optionally there may also be an applicationof innoculates 303. Inoculants may include, for example, lactic acidbacteria inoculants. Examples of lactic acid bacteria inoculantsinclude, for example, Biomax® by Chr. Hansen A/S of Hørsholm, Denmark,Biotal Plus® by Lallemand Animal Nutrition of Milwaukee, Wis., USA andRexdale, Ontario, Canada, Biotal® and Biotal Plus II® by LallemandAnimal Nutrition of Milwaukee, Wis., USA, Pioneer® brand 11A44 inoculantby Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. of Johnston, Iowa, USA, Pioneer®brand 11GFT inoculant by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. ofJohnston, Iowa, USA, Kem LAC® Brand HD by Kemin Industries, Inc. of DesMoines, Iowa, USA, FermenAider™ by Bio-Vet, Inc. of Blue Mounds, Wis.,USA, Sil-All® 4X4WS by AllTech of Lexington, Ky., USA, Lactisil H/MFInoculant by Canadian Bio-Systems Inc. of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, andECOSYL 66 by ECOSYL Products Limited based at Stokesley in NorthYorkshire, United Kingdom.

The biomass is then ensiled in step 305. The anaerobic storage of highmoisture biomass is known as ensiling. Storage may be in traditional ormodified feed storage structures such as silos, bins, and the like.Ensiled biomass can be stored long term, and provides a material tomanufacture liquid precursor hydrozates, thus allowing year roundproduction and load balancing of biorefineries. Liquid precursorhydrozate is a non-fermented, high sugar content liquid that has beenproduced from the ensiled biomass. Ensiling is an anaerobic fermentationprocess used to preserve the complete plant material of, for example,immature green corn, legumes, grasses, grain plants and food processingwaste. Ensiling may include chopping or mechanically processing thebiomass and packing it with high moisture content in silos or othercontainment structures to exclude air. Shortly after the introduction ofthe biomass some of the oxygen in the plant material will lead torespiration in the plant cells during the formation of carbon dioxideand heat. The respiration takes place at the expense of readilydigestible carbohydrates. Besides the plant cells, facultative anaerobicand aerobic micoorganisms will also take part in this process. In thesecond phase coliforme bacteria and other bacteria produce small amountsof acetic acid. This phase is of short duration. In the third phaselactic acid bacteria will convert readily digestible carbohydrates intolactic acid. In the fourth phase a stable state of equilibrium isachieved in the mass with an approximately constant lactic acid contentand contant pH. The first three phases usually take from 3 to 5 days andthe fourth phase will usually take from 2 to 3 weeks. Ensiling is usedfor long term storage as well as preconditioning of plant material(biomass) for the purpose of processing it into lignocellulosic basedbiofuel. Prior to production of liquid precursor hydrozate, the ensiledbiomass may undergo an optional additional mechanical destruction step307 that may include chopping, shredding, grinding, or other mechanicalprocessing.

The ensiled and processed biomass now can be used for multi-phaseextraction of precursors. This is further described by way of FIG. 4,and is a highly flexible multiple phase modular processing system usedto convert ensiled biomass into liquid precursor hydrozates and solidprecursor hydrozates. The number of phases and the number of modulesrequired at any given time depends on the incoming feedstock, feedstockprocessing rate and the resulting coproducts desired. The system andmulti phase apparatus is flexible in processing capacity and can beportable, or may also be operated as a fixed system. Each phase beginswith solid biomass and the addition of phase specific aqueous basedreagant solution depending on the targetted coproducts. The phases arecompleted in series with the previous one producing the solid feedstockbiomass that may be sold or used as the solid biomass fraction for thenext phase. Depending on the biomass being produced each of the phasescan have multiple steps and these steps may or may not be repeatedwithin any given phase. There is the possibility of three differentliquid precursor hydrozates being produced and three different biomasssolids being produced depending on the supplied biomass and the desiredresulting products. Each of the three phases produces a liquid precursorhydrozate and a solid precursor hydrozate which may be sold as is orused as a feedstock for the next phase. Each step of each phase may be abatch process or a continuous process depending on the feedstock andsystem requirements. As will be further described, each of the threephases may be run in series, repeated, run in varying order, or omittedand substituted based on operational requirements such as biomassproperties, end product specifications, and the like.

Phase I involves a hot water treatment and press 401. Hot watertreatment may involve multiple cycles where, in some embodiments of thepresent invention, liquid from the second extraction cycle is reused inthe repeated first cycle. Multiple cycles may or may not be useddependent on the final coproducts being produced. In an extractioncycle, aqueous solution, or in a multi cycle approach liquid from aprevious cycle, is added to mechanically conditioned and ensiled (orother) solid fraction along with additional additives resulting in anaqueous liquid fraction and a lower moisture solid fraction. After agiven period of time at a required temperature the first phasehydrolyzes the free carbohydrates along with other known solublematerials. In many embodiments of the present invention, the firstextraction liquid and the last extraction solid of phase I are thefinished coproduct objectives. Phase I may involve continuous or batchprocessing depending on operational factors such as the biomass beingprocessed and the processing time requirements. Once hot water treatmentis completed, the saturated material is pressed. For purposes of thisspecification, press includes any action taken on the saturated material(hot water treated biomass) to enhance the extraction of liquidprecursor hydrozate. This may include, but is not limited to, mechanicalpressing, cetrifuge, gravity, and the like. When pressed, the treatedbiomass yields a liquid precursor hydrozate 413 that is placed in avessel or other storage device for later processing and shipment to auser of the liquid, such as a biorefinery. The solids remaining may thenbe used for applications such as, but not limited to, enhanced animalfeed, or they may be further processed in Phase II. Phase II involves anacid treatment and press 403. This second phase is an optional phase ofthe multiple phase apparatus and may or may not be required depending onthe biomass being produced and the co-products being required orrequested. Phase II can be run on equipment similar to that used forPhase I. The primary objective of Phase II is to hydrolyze and extractcarbohydrates that require processing at lower pH levels, allowingproduction of economical hydrozate. As with Phase I. Phase II mayinvolve multiple cycles. A first cycle may use aqueous solution with pHadjusting additives as a liquid fraction or previous cycle extractionliquid along with additional pH adjusting additives as a liquidfraction. Acids that may be used in acid treatment include, but are notlimited to, sulfuric acid, muriatic acid, hydrochloric acid, and thelike. The solid fraction biomass is typically the solids coproduced inPhase I. After a given period of time at a required temperature thesecond phase Hydrozate that is high in carbohydrates is produced. Thishydrozate requires low pH processing. In some embodiments of the presentinvention, the first extraction liquid and the last extraction solid ofthis phase is the finished coproduct. Phase II may involve continuous orbatch processing depending on operational factors such as the biomassbeing processed and the processing time requirements. Once acidtreatment is completed, the saturated material is pressed. For purposesof this specification, press includes any action taken on the saturatedmaterial (acid treated biomass) to enhance the extraction of liquidprecursor hydrozate. This may include, but is not limited to, mechanicalpressing, cetrifuge, gravity, and the like. When pressed, the treatedbiomass yields a liquid precursor hydrozate 415 that is placed in avessel or other storage device for later processing and shipment to auser of the liquid, such as a bioretinery. The solids remaining may thenbe used for applications such as, but not limited to, enhanced animalfeed, enhanced sweet animal feed 409, or they may be further processedin Phase III. Phase III involves an enzymatic treatment and press 405.This third phase is an optional phase of the multiple phase apparatusand may or may not be required depending on the biomass being producedand the co-products being required or requested. This is the last phaseof the multiple phase apparatus that may or may not use a differentprocess design than phase I and or II. The primary objective of PhaseIII is to hydrolyze and extract carbohydrates that require processing ata different pH level and or temperature, and that also require digestingenzymes and or microbes to support hydrolyzing of carbohydrates toproduce the hydrozate. Enzymes may include, but are not limited to,enzymes, such as Accellerase© 1500 by Genencor, a Danisco Divison,headquartered in Rochester, N.Y., USA, Accellerase® XY, XC, and BG byGenencor, a Danisco Divison, headquartered in Rochester, N.Y., USA, BAN®by Novozymes A/S of Bagsværd, Denmark, Liquozyme® by Novozymes A/S ofBagsværd, Denmark, Spirizyme® by Novozymes A/S of Bagsværd, Denmark,Viscozyme® by Novozymes A/S of Bagsværd, Denmark, and CornBuster™ byC5•6 Technologies, Inc. of Middleton, Wis. 53562.

As with Phase I and Phase II this Phase may involve multiple cycles. Afirst cycle uses an aqueous solution with pH adjusting additives alongwith any required digesting enzymes and or microbes as its liquidfraction or prior cycle extraction liquid along with additional pHadjusting additives and any required digesting enzymes and or microbesas its liquid fraction. The solid fraction biomass used in Phase III istypically the solids coproduced in Phase II. In many embodiments of thepresent invention, the first extraction liquid and the last extractionsolid of this phase are the finished coproduct objectives. Phase III canbe a batch process or a continuous process depending on the biomassbeing processed and other variables. Once enzymatic treatment iscompleted, the saturated material is pressed. For purposes of thisspecification, press includes any action taken on the saturated material(acid treated biomass) to enhance the extraction of liquid precursorhydrozate. This may include, but is not limited to, mechanical pressing,cetrifuge, gravity, and the like. When pressed, the treated biomassyields a liquid precursor hydrozate 417 that is placed in a vessel orother storage device for later processing and shipment to a user of theliquid, such as a biorefinery. The solids remaining are high ligninmaterials that may be used for a wide variety of applications such asabsorbent media, animal or human food and food additives, buildingproducts such as composite boards and sheets, animal bedding,combustible fuels such as burning pellets, adhesive and plasticadditives, bio-plastics, soil additives, and the like.

The liquid precursor hydrozates from each phase may be combined in avessel, appropriate container, batch or continuous process and willreceive a concentration treatment, as described by way of FIG. 5. Insome embodiments of the present invention, further treatment of theliquid precursor hydrozate may take place, including, for example, theaddition of enzymes such as Accellerase© 1500 by Genencor, a DaniscoDivison, headquartered in Rochester, N.Y., USA, Accellerase® XY, XC, andBG by Genencor, a Danisco Divison, headquartered in Rochester, N.Y.,USA, BAN® by Novozymes A/S of Bagsværd. Denmark, Liquozyme® by NovozymesA/S of Bagsværd, Denmark, Spirizyme® by Novozymes A/S of Bagsværd,Denmark, Viscozyme® by Novozymes A/S of Bagsværd, Denmark, andCornBuster™ by C5•6 Technologies, Inc. of Middleton, Wis. 53562.

Turning now to FIG. 5, the mixed precursors 501 (liquid precursorhydrozates) may receive further concentration treatment 503 prior toshipment. This step involves removing some water from the mixedprecursors and may optionally include treatment such as chemicaltreatment, biomaterial treatment, and the like. Concentration involves awater extraction device. Water extraction devices include, but are notlimited to, reverse osmosis membranes and systems, applied heat systems,ultra filtration systems, nano filtration systems, and other suchdevices that will remove and further concentrate the liquid precursorhydrozates. The water that has been removed by the water extractiondevice is placed in a holding tank 505 or other retention device and maybe reused for other process uses 507. Once concentration is completed,the concentrated liquid precursor hydrozate is ready for shipment to abiorefinery for fermentation, distillation and reduction to an alcoholsuch as ethanol. Concentrated liquid precursor hydrozate providesreduced shipping costs, material handling costs, and the like.

FIG. 6 depicts some typical processes at a biorefinery that uses theliquid precursor hydrozate for production of alcohol such as ethanol.The concentrated precursor 601 (concentrated liquid precursor hydrozate)may have water added such that the concentration strength forfermentation 603 is optimized. Fermentation may take place using severaloptions. Option 1 used packed fermentation with bacteria 605. In packedfermentation, solid material is added to the liquid precursor hydrozate,the fermenter containing structures to increase surface area in a givenvolume to provide increased surface area for microbes or bacteria toinhabit. An example of a novel solid material that may be used forpacked fermentation is the packed fermenter structure of FIG. 10. Such astructure can be added to a fermentation vessel or process in quantity,and may be reused. Another option for fermentation is Option 2,fermentation with yeast 607. Such fermentation is known to those skilledin the art, and may include a fermentation vessel with a water lock orother similar device to allow carbon dioxide to exit without allowingentry of ambient air. Another option, Option 3, involves fermentationwith Simultaneous Sacrification and Fermentation (SSF) microbes. Anexample of such a microbe is Clostridium Phytofermentans, produced byQTEROS of Marlborough, Mass. USA as the Q Microbe. Once fermentation iscompleted and the sugars contained in the liquid precursor hydrozatehave been converted to alcohol, the fermented liquid is transferred to abeer well 611 or similar structure. The fermented liquid (beer) is thensent to a distillation column where alcohol is boiled from the fermentedliquid and condensed, leaving the higher boiling point water behind.Optionally, to reduce energy costs, alcohol concentration 615 may beperformed by way of membrane technology systems. The resulting productof the biorefinery is alcohol such as ethanol, produced from the liquidprecursor hydrozate.

To illustrate the major steps in producing alcohol according to thepresent invention, one may refer to FIG. 7. The process begins with theprovision of feedstock in step 701. Feedstock, as previously definedherein, is biomass, and as has been stated previously, the termsfeedstock and biomass are used interchangeably throughout thisspecification. Feedstock is processed in step 703. Feedstock processinghas been previously described by way of FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, and includes,but is not limited to, harvest, pretreatment, storage, ensiling,mechanical processing, secondary destruction and processing, applicationof inoculates and application of chemicals. Liquid precursor hydrozate,and solids, also known as solid precursor hydrozate, are separated instep 705 as previously described by way of to FIG. 4. The seperation isperformed using techniques such as, but not limited to, mechanicalpressing, pressing, cetrifuge, gravity, and the like. These actions aregenerically and collectively referred to as “press” in thisspecification. In step 707, the liquid precursor hydrozate undergoes aconcentration treatment, as previously described by way of FIG. 5.Concentration treatment includes the removal of water as well asoptionally the addition of chemicals and or biomaterials. The liquidprecursor hydrozate is then transported from a distributed feedstockprocessing location in step 709 to a biorefinery for the production ofan alcohol such as ethanol in step 711.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing major process components of the presentinvention. A feedstock provider 801 may be a farmer or agriculturaloperations or processing operator, a manufacturer of food or material,or any other provider of biomass. Precursor Production 803 includes theproduction of both liquid and solid precursor hydrozates. PrecursorProduction has been previously described by way of FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, and5, and includes, but is not limited to, harvest, post harvestprocessing, pretreatment, storage, ensiling, mechanical processing,secondary destruction and processing, application of inoculates andapplication of chemicals, separation of liquid precursor hydrozates fromsolid precursor hydrozates, and concentration treatment. Transportationof liquid precursor hydrozate in step 805 to a biorefinery 807 will thenresult in fermentation and distillation of the liquid precursorhydrozate at the biorefinery.

FIG. 9 depicts a distributed feedstock processing and centralbiorefinery system according to the present invention. As depicted,feedstock processing 903 takes place at a plurality of distributedsources, resulting in transportation of liquid precursor hydrozate to acentral biorefinery 901 for the fermentation and distillation of theliquid precursor hydrozate, resulting in alcohol such as ethanol. Theliquid precursor may be concentrated and may have some amount of waterremoved or added, but may still be referred to generically as liquidprecursor concentrate regardless of the amount of water removed oradded. The operation of a biorefinery using the products and processesof the present invention has been previously described by way of FIG. 6.

One of the operations of a biorefinery is the fermentation of the liquidprecursor hydrozate prior to distillation. Fermentation is an anaerobicprocess used primarily by yeasts where sugars such as glucose, fructoseand sucrose are converted into cellular energy with alcohol and carbondioxide as waste products for the yeast. In traditional fermentation,biomass is present along with liquid components. The presence of biomassserves to increase surface area available to microbes such as yeasts.The present invention uses liquid precursor hydrozate for fermentation.This liquid does not contain large surface area biomass structure. FIG.10 depicts a packed fermenter structure 1001. Such a packed fermenterstructure serves to provide a high surface area structure for the growthof microbes such as yeast, bacteria, and the like. The packed fermenterstructure 1001 has a circular shape, but other geometries may be usedwithout departing from the spirit and broad scope of the presentinvention. The packed fermenter structure may be made from a plasticsuch as polyethylene, polypropylene, or the like. The packed fermenterstructure may also be made from biomaterials such as biomass fibers,polylactide, and the like. The packed fermenter structure may also bemade from a metal such as stainless steel. In the case of a plasticpacked fermenter structure, plastic additives such as fibers or spheresmay optionally be added to further increase surface area. The plasticfermenter structure may vary in size, an example of a size range being 1to 5 inches in diameter. FIG. 11 depicts the packed fermenter structuresin use in a processing vessel 1101. The packed fermenter structures 1001are randomly distributed throughout the vessel. The vessel may be ofvarying size, capacity, geometry, or may be a batch or continuousarrangement. Such a structure improves the efficiency of thefermentation process given the novel systems and methods describedherein.

It is, therefore, apparent that there has been provided, in accordancewith the various objects of the present invention, a multi-phaseapparatus for the hydrolyzation of ensiled biomass and related systemsand methods for producing alcohol from liquid precursors produced by themulti-phase apparatus. While the various objects of this invention havebeen described in conjunction with preferred embodiments thereof, it isevident that many alternatives, modifications, and variations will beapparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended toembrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations that fallwithin the spirit and broad scope of this specification, drawings andclaims herein.

1-22. (canceled)
 23. A system for producing a liquid precursor hydrozateand a solid precursor hydrozate, the system comprising: (a) a biomasscomposition comprising cellulose, hemicellulose, or lignocellulose; (b)an acid treatment vessel for combining the biomass composition with anacid; (c) a first press operatively coupled to the acid treatment vesselfor removing water from the acid treated biomass composition; (d) a heattreatment vessel operatively coupled to the first press for combiningthe dewatered, acid treated biomass composition with hot water; (e) asecond press operatively coupled to the heat treatment vessel toseparate a liquid precursor hydrozate from a solid precursor hydrozate;and (f) a process control system.
 24. The system of claim 23, furthercomprising a water extraction device for concentrating the liquidprecursor hydrozate.
 25. The system of claim 24, wherein the waterextraction device is a reverse osmosis system.
 26. The system of claim24, wherein the water extraction device is an applied heat system. 27.The system of claim 24, wherein the water extraction device is an ultrafiltration system.
 28. The system of claim 24, wherein the waterextraction device is a nano filtration system.
 29. The system of claim23, wherein the system is portable.
 30. The system of claim 23, whereinthe first press or the second press is a mechanical press.
 31. Thesystem of claim 23, wherein the first press or the second press is acetrifuge press.
 32. The system of claim 23, wherein the first press orthe second press is a gravity press.
 33. The system of claim 23, furthercomprising an enzymatic treatment vessel for combining the solidprecursor hydrozate with one or more enzymes.
 34. The system of claim23, wherein the biomass composition comprising cellulose, hemicellulose,or lignocellulose further comprises hard grains, starches, or acombination thereof.
 35. The system of claim 23, wherein the biomasscomposition comprising cellulose, hemicellulose, or lignocellulose iscorn stover, cereal straws, sugarcane bagasse, sawdust, paper pulp,waste materials, switchgrass, animal feed, paper, cardboard, or acombination thereof.
 36. The system of claim 23, wherein the acid issulfuric acid.
 37. The system of claim 23, wherein the acid is anorganic acid or a mineral acid.
 38. The system of claim 23, wherein theacid is hydrochloric acid.
 39. The system of claim 23, wherein thebiomass composition comprising cellulose, hemicellulose, orlignocellulose is an ensiled biomass.